Burnt Almond Cake

The city where I grew up, San Jose, doesn’t have a nationally known signature dish. It’s more suburban sprawl than cutting-edge culinary destination. However, there are certain foods that I will always associate with San Jose. During high school I practically lived on falafels from Falafel Drive-In, and to this day I swear their spicy falafels and banana shakes are the best I’ve ever tasted.

In the sweet realm, I can’t talk about San Jose without talking about burnt almond cake, and the big cake rivalry between Dick’s Bakery and Peter’s Bakery. (Cake rivalry, you ask? I may exaggerate—but just a little. Check the yelpreviews.)

See, there are two old-school bakeries that both claim to have the best burnt almond cake in the city. People tend to divide into two camps—you’re either on Dick’s side, or Peter’s side. There’s no equivocating, and there’s no neutral territory. For myself, I’m a Peter’s Bakery girl. This small hole-in-the-wall bakery was near my house, and I actually had my wedding cake made there, so of course I stay loyal, and would defend the superiority of Peter’s burnt almond cake over Dick’s any day of the week.

I haven’t tasted or thought about burnt almond cake in years, but I recently read something that referenced a different almond cake recipe, and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about the cake that reminds me so much of my childhood. I had to make one myself.

If you’re not familiar with burnt almond cake, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. (And also why anyone sane would put the word “burnt” in a cake title in the first place.) Put simply, it’s a fluffy white cake filled with almond pastry cream, frosted with buttercream, and coated with a thick layer of caramelized almonds. My version has almond flavor in every single component, so if you’re an almond fan who’s tired of vanilla or chocolate (or passion fruit!) having all the fun, allow me to introduce you to your new love.

Just to be clear, this is my version of a burnt almond cake, not a recreation of the bakery ones. (I feel like I need this disclaimer so that crazed Dick’s and Peter’s fans don’t track me down chanting “Not the same! Not the same!”) For one thing, it’s been ages since I’ve tasted the real thing, and I don’t remember the details well enough to be confident of getting things right. For another—buckle up for real talk—I’d bet anything that they’re actually using cake mixes and prepackaged custard fillings in their cakes. You just can’t do that kind of volume at those price points by making everything from scratch. So, of course, this cake is going to be a bit different than the one from Peter’s or Dick’s.

That doesn’t mean that it’s not AWESOME, though. The almond-flavored white cake is moistened by both an almond simple syrup and the creamy almond pastry cream layers. The buttercream is one of those wacky flour-based ones (newly obsessed with them) that has the light texture and flavor of whipped cream but the stability of buttercream. And the homemade caramelized almonds are the crowing touch, adding a great crunch, a bit of chew, and a whole lot of flavor from the deep, darkly caramelized toasted nuts.

No, it’s not the cake of my childhood—but at the risk of boasting, I think it’s even better. And the fact that I can make it in my own kitchen any time I want? That’s the best part of all.

It is possible to make this cake in one day, but since there are multiple components and some involve substantial chilling times, I think it’s easier to break the preparation and assembly up into two days. For instance, you could make the cake, pastry cream, simple syrup, and buttercream on one day, and then make the caramelized almonds and assemble the cake the next day.

Author: Elizabeth LaBau

Serves: 9-inch cake

Ingredients

For the Almond Cake:

4 extra-large egg whites

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1½ tsp almond extract

3 cups (10.5 oz) cake flour

1½ cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

6 oz butter, at room temperature

For the Simple Syrup:

½ cup water

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp amaretto, or 1 tsp almond extract

For the Almond Pastry Cream:

1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin

1 tbsp cold water

4 yolks

1 whole egg

3 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups milk

½ cup granulated sugar

pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp almond extract

2 tbsp butter

½ cup heavy cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar

For the Almond Buttercream:

½ cup all-purpose flour

1½ cups milk

12 oz butter

1½ cups granulated sugar (I used superfine so it dissolved quickly)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

¼ tsp salt

For the Caramelized Almonds:

1½ cups (6 oz) sliced almonds

2 tbsp water

½ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp lemon juice

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

Instructions

To Make the Almond Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two 9” cake pans with parchment, and spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg whites, ¼ cup milk, and vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside for now.

In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to mix and sift the ingredients. Add the softened butter and the remaining ¾ cup milk to the bowl, and mix on low speed until the flour is moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 90 seconds.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the egg white mixture in 3 parts, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly when pressed. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then gently invert them out of the pans, invert them again until they’re right-side up, and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

To Make the Simple Syrup:

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir them together until the sugar dissolves, and heat the sugar syrup until it just starts to boil. Remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in the amaretto or almond extract.

To Make the Almond Pastry Cream:

Combine the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to let the gelatin absorb the water. Once absorbed, microwave the bowl for 10-15 seconds, until the gelatin is liquid. Set aside for now.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, egg, cornstarch, and ¼ cup of sugar. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and salt. Heat the milk over a medium burner until it just starts to boil. Start whisking the egg mixture, and while you’re whisking, drizzle a little hot milk into the eggs. Continue to whisk and drizzle until you’ve added about half of the milk. Switch to whisking the milk, then pour the eggs into the milk mixture while whisking.

Return the pan to the burner and heat the cream, whisking constantly. Use a rubber spatula to periodically scrape the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t scorch. Cook until the pastry cream thickens and starts a very gently bubbling, then cook for about 2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the liquid gelatin, vanilla extract, almond extract, and butter.

Pour the cream through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl. It will be somewhat thick, so use a spatula to help work it through, straining out any clumps of egg that have developed. Press a layer of cling wrap directly on top of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours. (To speed the cooling process, the cream can be spread onto a baking sheet and put in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, but don’t forget it in the freezer!)

Right before you’re ready to use the pastry cream in the cake, whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until it forms firm peaks. Gently fold together the pastry cream and whipped cream together.

To Make the Almond Buttercream:

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and milk. Pour it through a fine wire mesh strainer into a medium saucepan, straining out any flour clumps. Heat the flour mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. It will go from being a thin liquid to being a very thick paste. It should have the consistency of a very thick pudding when you’re done. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the flour mixture cool completely. To speed this process, I like the fill my sink with an inch or two of cold water, and submerge the bottom of the pan in the water, making sure to not get any in the pan. Stir occasionally while the mixture cools.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy and no longer gritty, about 5-7 minutes.

Once the flour mixture is no longer warm at all, and the butter/sugar is light and fluffy, add the flour to the mixing bowl, along with the vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. Whip together for 2-3 minutes until well-combined, light, and fluffy. If it seems to separate continue to beat it until it comes back together.

To Make the Caramelized Almonds:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick spray. Place the nuts on the baking sheet and toast them in the oven while you prepare the caramel.

Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the water dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Insert a candy thermometer and boil the sugar until it starts to turn a golden brown and reads between 310-325 on the thermometer.

Remove the pan from the heat, and add the hot nuts from the oven. Stir until the nuts are coated with caramel. Add the butter and stir, then pour the nuts out onto the foil-lined baking sheet. Use a spatula to spread them into a thin layer without many nuts overlapping.

Let the nuts cool completely, then break them apart. If they’re in large chunks, chop them coarsely.

To Assemble:

Using a large serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half. Place one layer on a cake cardboard (or your serving plate) and use a pastry brush to brush it generously with the simple syrup.

Scoop some buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip. Pipe a ring of buttercream all along the edge of the cake round to act as a barrier and hold in the filling. Scoop ⅓ of the pastry cream onto the cake, and spread it in an even layer until it covers the cake and reaches the buttercream ring. Top the cake round with a second round, and repeat the process of brushing it with simple syrup, piping a ring of buttercream, and spreading the pastry cream in the center.

Repeat with the remaining layers, until you have a 4-layer cake with 3 layers of buttercream. Spread buttercream along the sides and top of the cake. It doesn’t have to be super-smooth since most of the surface will be covered with almonds.

Press caramelized almonds into the sides of the cake. This is easiest if you use a cardboard cake round—hold the cake in one hand, over the baking sheet full of almonds, and use the other to press almonds into the sides, letting the excess fall back onto the sheet.

Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe rosettes along the top of the cake. Decorate them with more caramelized almonds, if desired. The almonds will start to get sticky after about a day, so for optimal texture enjoy it on the day it’s made, but the flavor is still wonderful several days after.

Hi Elizabeth, I just came across your recipe for burnt almond cake. since I am from San Jose, still live in West San Jose and I am having burnt almond cake withdrawls..Dick’s Bakery had a fire recently and had to shut down for a while ! Peter’s is way out of my way so I thought I would just make my own since I dont want to drive all the way to that side of town….thank you for the recipe. I am going to try it.

Claudia Morales,
I too just found out that my FAVORITE bakery, Dick’s, and their AMAZING burnt almond cake, burned down in May. I now live in Seattle, but I lived in Cambrian in San Jose for years and their cake was always my bday cake of choice. Friends just visited me last weekend and I was chiding them about not bringing me a cake and they told me the bad news. Now I am OBSESSED with finding a clone recipe! lol. I hope this one is close!!! Let me know what you think when you make it. I haven’t had it in over a decade…oh but I think my taste buds will remember….

Regina
September 25, 2016 at 7:38 PM

Hello, Iam from San Jose too, greww up in the west side and east side so I like both Dicks and Petes and think they taste the same..I really miss this came and often want to re-create it..maybe now I can.. San Jose had the best cakes..I miss California;)

This post has made my day! I too love burnt almond cake, although I have to admit that I fall in the Dick’s Bakery camp (since I grew up so close to their bakery). I’ve always thought about how I could recreate this cake at home, but never worked myself up to the task. Thanks so much for sharing your creation…I plan on making this for my parents (also huge burnt almond cake fans) and know that it will amaze them.

Heeeeey, fellow San Jose native! So exciting to find someone who remembers these cakes as well. (And we can totally still be friends, even if you’re rooting for the enemy.) What high school did you go to? (I was at Lincoln.) Please let me know what you think when you give it a try!

Hi, my grandma has been going to Dicks for their Burnt Almond Cake for over 60 years now. So it only seems fitting we have one at her memorial service next week, however, the people my mom has been working with at Dicks have not showed an ounce of customer service and have been a little rude; do you know of any other bakeries in the area that have Burnt Almond Cake and deliver as well? I contacted Peter’s but unfortunately they do not deliver.
Thanks

Hi Jenn, Thanks for the comment. I’m so sorry to hear about your grandmother, and I think having burnt almond cake at her memorial sounds lovely! Unfortunately I haven’t lived in San Jose for a decade now, and I’m not very familiar with the bakery scene there anymore. I hope you’re able to find something that works for you and your family! Best to you.

Veena Ramachandran
March 29, 2014 at 11:11 AM

Hey guys,

I know it’s a year since the memorial service (hope your family is doing better after the loss) but I live in the Bay Area now and can recommend a great bakery that sells one of the best burnt almond cakes ever. I hadn’t had a burnt almond cake until I came to the Bay Area and I can vouch for it being the best out-of-the-ordinary cake I have EVER had (I am usually a chocolate anything freak).

You can go to the La Patisserie bakery on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Boy! That cake is to die for. 🙂

While I’ve never had a “burnt” almond cake, wedding cakes down here are almond flavored and are my ABSOLUTE favorite.

(I always assumed the whole world had almond flavored wedding cakes until a friend of my got married and had to bring a taste somewhere so I’m thoroughly confused…)

BUT I’m so excited to see an almond cake recipe that doesn’t start with a white cake mix and then get doctored up. I LOVE the idea of using an almond simple syrup and an almond pastry cream. This looks gorgeous and delicious Elizabeth!!

I didn’t realize almond wedding cakes were commonly a “thing”! Can’t argue with that custom, though, since almond cakes are pretty darn delicious. I’m anti-cake mix and try to avoid them when possible, for sure!

I grew up in Almaden area of San Jose and fell in love with these cakes from Dicks (didn’t even know of Peters bakery until I started trying to locate this recipe myself). I live in FL now and would love to bring this awesome cake to the East Coast… Will try your recipe as it looks like what I remember. Thanks for giving me the opp to bake this awesome cake!

I grew up in Santa Clara (Wilson’s bakery turf) but have been thinking about the fab Dick’s bakery almond cake for the last few weeks! Did not even know of Peter’s – wayyyy on the other side of town.
Also love Falafel Drive-In, still as great as ever when I get a chance to go back there, and also the incredible Stan’s Donuts. Will definitely try this version of the cake – thanks!

I’m so excited to find this receipe. My older sister is turning 50 this year and burnt almond cake is her FAVORITE. We are from Los Gatos and I cannot wait to make this cake for her here in Florida while she is visiting me. THANKS!!

Hello! I’m making your burnt almond cake right now. And something went wrong with the buttercream. I’m on the final step of the buttercream and when I tasted it, there are small lumps of gelled material in it. It totally ruins the buttercream because it throws off the texture. What did I do wrong? I don’t want to keep mixing it cause I’m not sure if that will make it worse. I do t mid doing the buttercream over but I want to improve my technique. Your directions are awesome by the way and everything tastes wonderful so far!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

Hi Angela! So sorry to hear about the buttercream. Those lumps are from the flour mixture that you added. I think there are a few possibilities: 1.) the flour mixture itself was lumpy (this sometimes happens to me when I skip the straining step before cooking it, which is why I included straining in the recipe. If you strained it before you cooked it, this shouldn’t be a problem.) 2.) The flour mixture was cooked too long, and got really really thick and congealed, 3.) it wasn’t stirred enough, either during the cooking or cooling phase or 4.) it was left out at room temp for awhile and got a little dried out on top and formed a “skin,” and these drier top bits didn’t incorporate.

Do any of these sound possible? If you’d like to try again, I’d say DEFINITELY strain the flour/milk through a fine strainer before cooking if you didn’t do it this time, whisk constantly while cooking, cook until it’s thick like a pudding but not much beyond that, stir it often while it cools, and use it once it’s room temp but if you’re not ready to use it right away, press plastic wrap to the top so it doesn’t dry out.

I know that seems like a ton of things, and I’m sure you were doing most of those already, I just wanted to cover all the bases I could think of. 🙂 I hope this helps! And if you’re not excited about the possibility of trying it again, you could always make your favorite buttercream and just add some almond extract to that. Please let me know how it turns out!

thanks for this posting. I am also from SJ and used to order the dick’s version for all special occasions. I am anxious to try this one. PS…The felafel drive-in was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives

So fun to read the comments – I’m also from the San Jose area (Campbell) and had burnt almond for my birthdays and first baby shower. I would have had it for my wedding cake, too, but my wedding venue forced us to use a baker that didn’t offer it. Boo. And Stan’s! The best! Thanks for the recipe; I can’t wait to try it!

Hi, I’m making this recipe right now, and I’m afraid I may have actually burnt the almonds or the caramel. I put them into the oven like it said for the duration of the time it took to make the caramel to coat them… and they are more brown than what is pictured. At the very end of making the caramel mixture, it started smoking right at the temp suggested, and I took it off, and added the almonds. Are they supposed to have a little bit of the “burnt” smell/taste to them, or should I do this step over? Thanks

Sorry this step is giving you trouble! As far as whether you should re-do the step, I think it all comes down to whether you like the taste of the almonds or not. If they were overcooked, but you still think they taste great, then you can keep going! But if there’s a burnt undertaste that bothers you, then I’d just re-do–it would be a shame to have a cake that you like with a topping that ruins the whole thing. As for what they “should” taste like, I would say no, they shouldn’t taste burnt. When I caramelize nuts I do take them to a dark, almost smoky place, but the final flavor is one of deeply caramelized sugar, not burned or bitter. It’s possible that your stove takes longer than mine does to cook the caramel, so the almonds are over-toasted, or perhaps your candy thermometer is off by a few degrees, so the sugar cooked too much. There are a lot of variables and even a few minutes or a few degrees can give very different outcomes. If you do decide to do it again, I would change a few things just to be safe. Use pre-toasted almonds so they’re already crunchy, and keep them at 300 instead of 350–the most important thing is that they’re hot when you add them, so 300 should heat them up without overcooking them. Caramel usually doesn’t smoke if it’s at 310 F (when I make caramel candies I take it to 350 without problems) so try to keep your caramel on the lower side of the recommendation, and maybe test to make sure your thermometer is accurate before starting again. Here’s an easy way to check your thermometer:

Oh, one other thing I thought of. If you’re near a Trader Joe’s, they carry a product called honey-roasted sliced almonds. They’re basically sliced almonds with a crunchy, sweet coating already on them. Like a cheater’s version of caramelized almonds. You can use those if you don’t want to go to the trouble of re-making them! Not quite the same but a pretty good substitute.

Thank you. Unfortunately I won’t be the one enjoying this cake- it is for my husband for his birthday. I am weird, and don’t eat anything with gelatin in it. lol. Oh, and we are not at a high altitude, or near a trader joe’s. So, I may ask a few opinions if of friends who can taste test them, and go from there. Thanks for all the input! 🙂

Hi Rahman,
I always like to use unsalted butter in my recipes–that way I can always control how much salt is in them. 🙂 That being said, if you use salted, you probably won’t notice much difference, with the exception of maybe the frosting, where the butter flavor is stronger.

Elizabeth; you are the woman after my taste. I lived in San Jose as well from 1972 to 2004. I now live in Raleigh, NC. And boy; do i miss the Burnt Almond cake from Peter’s bakery and the flafals from the Flaffal Drive-in on San Carlos and Highway 17. What memories. I actually ate my first falaffal pita at that place in December of 1972 – i was there a year ago and those benches and trash-cans are still there. Albeit painted a thousands times over. I was just showing your receipe to my wife and pleading her to please bake the cake tomorrow.

Moe, that is so cool! I didn’t realize it had been around since the early 70s (although heaven knows it looks like it!). I haven’t eaten at the falafel place for probably a decade, and I don’t know how I’ve let it go that long! Did you know that place was featured on the Food Network Show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives? Aaaanyhow, please let me know what you think if you give it a try!

Born and raised two blocks from Dick’s bakery. Burnt almond cake is no exception top of the food chain! My sister and my mother worked at Dick’s many years ago and I know there secret to the awesome crunch of the frosting… They keep a hot poker in the oven and lay it quickly across the top to make the cross marks. The cake is a sponge cake and it is made at the bakery from start to finish.. Im a Willow Glen girl now stuck in Michigan missing Dick’s bakery and Race St. Fish and chips!

I too am a Peter’s girl stuck in Maryland! I plan to make this for our Easter celebration next month! I am sooooo excited! My family just sent me pics of their Peter’s cake from a birthday celebration… My jealousy found your webpage! lol 🙂

I am going to make this cake for Easter! I am going to do the 2 day process as you suggested. What would you say is the best way to keep the simple syrup, pastry cream and buttercream until the next day? Covered in the refrigerator? And the cakes what is the best way to keep them moist until the next day?
Thanks!

Awesome! The simple syrup can be kept at room temperature. I usually just cover the saucepan and leave it near the stove until I’m ready to use it. (Or you can transfer it to a container with a lid–it’s not too picky.) The pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator with a layer of cling wrap on top, to keep it from getting a skin. I’d hold off on adding the whipped cream to the pastry cream until you’re ready to fill the cake. The buttercream should also be stored in the refrigerator in a container with a lid. Let it come to room temperature before using it. For the cakes, if it’s only a day, I wouldn’t worry about them too much. I’d just wrap them well in cling wrap and leave them at room temperature. Freezing is actually the best way to keep cakes fresh and moist, but because you’ll be brushing them with the syrup (which adds moisture) and because it’s only a day, it’s not a big concern. If you do want to freeze them, let them defrost partially before you use them, to make them easier to cut. Good luck, Lyndsee, and let me know how it goes!

I live in the San Jose area, and YES, we love Burnt Almond Cake from Peter’s Bakery! I am going to try your recipe to make my birthday cake for this weekend. I had a question regarding your recipe though. You have a butter cream, and pastry cream recipe. But in the assembly directions, it only shows the butter cream. Where do I put the pastry cream? I apologize if I sound clueless. 🙂

Hi Tanya! No worries–layer cakes can be confusing! The pastry cream is in between the cake layers, surrounded by a ring of buttercream: “Pipe a ring of buttercream all along the edge of the cake round to act as a barrier and hold in the filling. Scoop 1/3 of the pastry cream onto the cake, and spread it in an even layer until it covers the cake and reaches the buttercream ring. Top the cake round with a second round, and repeat the process of brushing it with simple syrup, piping a ring of buttercream, and spreading the pastry cream in the center.” The buttercream ring keeps the pastry cream from squishing out the sides and helps keep the cake secure. You can see the pastry cream in the pictures of the cut cake slices, it’s the yellowish custard in the middle. 🙂 Hope this helps! Feel free to hit me up with any more questions you have.

OMG I have been looking for a Burnt-Almond Cake
recipes for years. I can’t wait to try this. I also grew up in San Jose and loved Dick’s Burnt-Almond cake and I have never found anything like them since. I’m now 58 years old and have been living in Emmett Idaho for 16 plus years and every bakery I’ve been to they have never heard of Burnt-Almond cake. I’m sure this cake will also bring back some childhood memories.

Well. Thanks SO much for this recipe. I have a coworker originally from San Jose. He has raved about Peter’s bakery and it’s Burnt Almond Cake. Today is his last day here at work and I tried this recipe. We have MANY cake connoisseurs here and they are just over the top about this cake. They say it’s the best they’ve ever tasted! Many steps but totally worth it!!

I’m originally from the Bay Area, and I’ve had the Burnt Almond Cake from both Dick’s and Peter’s which is why I was so excited to try this recipe. I’m about 85% done with the recipe at the moment. For the most part everything turned out except the candied almonds and the buttercream. The buttercream came out out with more of the consistency of a cream cheese frosting. So I’m going to grab my stand-by buttercream to substitute. I’m on my second batch of candied almonds and they still have a hint of burnt flavoring. The technique seems similar to that of English toffee, but for some reason it is not turning out for me. So running to the store to purchase some premade candied nuts to finish this recipe.

I also had problems with the butter cream, but everything else came out perfect. My butter cream was really runny and never got firm. DO you know why that would have been? I tried twice and both times it turned out that way

Hi Melanie, I’m sorry that the buttercream didn’t work out! You can definitely substitute your favorite buttercream recipe with a bit of almond extract added instead of this recipe. If you want to try troubleshooting this recipe, I’d ask: did you cook the flour/milk until it was a super-thick paste? Did it cool completely until it was not at all warm to the touch? Was the butter too warm, or was it just softened enough to beat easily but not starting to get melty or greasy? You might also find this photo tutorial from Tasty Kitchen helpful to see how the frosting should look at different stages:

I just want to say that I am soooooo glad that I stumbled onto your page with this recipe! My Granny absolutely LOVED Dick’s Bakery Burnt Almond Cake and would get it for everyone of my family’s birthday. She for some reason thought that it was all of our favorites, even though no one especially liked it! So now in honor of her we always get that cake from Dick’s Bakery for birthdays, but since my parents and I moved to Seattle we have no where to get one. It is really nice that the recipe I found is from someone that is from San Jose and even knows the bakery we usually go to. 😀

Thanks Melanie! That’s so funny how your grandma thought it was everyone’s favorite even though no one liked it much. 🙂 It’s been so fun to hear from San Jose natives who all have good memories of Dick’s and Peter’s. Please let me know what you think if you give it a try!

Everything tasted amazing and turned out great except my buttercream turned out too runny both times I tried so it didn’t look pretty but still tasted really amazing! My step mom even had a second piece, which is way out of character for her lol

Haha we were commenting at the same time. 🙂 I posted a few buttercream troubleshooting suggestions on your other comment, in case you ever want to try it again. I’m so glad that it worked out and that your family enjoyed it!

Oh man! Falafel Drive-in!! (excuse me for a moment while I clean up the drool that just dripped on my keyboard while I remembered that yummy place).
I made this cake for my hubby (we are both from San Jose) after I could not find a bakery in the entire pacific NW that made it (most of them had never even heard of it). While it didn’t turn out as pretty it tasted fabulous, and that’s what counts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hello Melanie!! I’m SO happy I saw this!! I recently relocated to Frederick, MD and I’ve been missing everything about San Jose. I grew up in East Side San Jose-I went to Piedmont Hills High School. I grew up loving Peter’s Bakery’s Burnt Almond cake and cupcakes. A little over two months ago I made a stop there before making my cross county trip-just to buy half a dozen cupcakes. Being a little home sick-it made my day to see this. Thank you 😊😁👍

Hi Laura, Large eggs are fine throughout! The cake recipe is adapted from one in a cookbook, and I kept the eggs extra-large to stay true to the recipe writer, however, I have made it with large eggs in the past and it works out fine. Let me know how it goes, and feel free to reach out with any other questions!

I never comment on these things, but this is a beautiful and tasty looking cake.

But…

I just make this, to the T, with only nice sources for the ingredients. The cake sprung back and a tooth pick came up clean. Then when I went to check on the cooling cakes they disintegrated back into batter, almost completely. This recipe ruined my brother’s birthday, and I only see him once a year. Thanks a lot. I’ll never follow these recipes again. :'(

Hi,
I’m sorry to hear that the cake recipe didn’t work out for you. While I’m sure that mistakes and typos sometimes happen in my recipes, for this particular one there have been many comments from other readers who have made the cake successfully, so I am inclined to think that the recipe is okay. If you want to send me an email with more details, I can try to work with you to troubleshoot what might have gone wrong.

Just came across this entry and hope to try this soon. I live close to Dick’s Bakery so that’s the one I know. I have never even heard of Peter’s Bakery but I think I may just have to check it out! Thanks for the post.

I am also from san jose currently living in NM I’ve never had dicks or peters but my cousin also from sj moved here near me and today is her bday all she wanted was peters cake. So i looked it up and found you. I have made all components and have a question should this be stored in refrigerator after being put together and the leftover cake?

Hi Ericka, I’m sorry for the belated reply. I’m sure you’ve figured something out by now, but to answer your question, I store this cake in the fridge due to the pastry cream filling. I hope your cousin enjoyed the cake!

Thank you for posting this! I grew up on the east side and went to MP so you know I’m a Peter’s person! These cakes remind of me of birthday parties, and of my grandparents who lived just up the street from Peter’s. They would always stop in for fresh bread or a doughnut. Thank you for posting this recipe. I am very excited to get a taste of home here in Austin!

Wow, that is very sad news! I hope that Dick’s is able to rebuild soon–San Jose just isn’t the same without it! You should definitely try Peter’s, and see what you think!
Rather than try to modify this recipe, I would suggest starting with a chocolate cake recipe and adding almond extract to that. I think that’s all you’d need to do, but you COULD make a chocolate pastry cream as well–but I rather think that might make it too chocolatey? Your call. Feel free to send me an email ([email protected]) for specific recipe suggestions–it’s a bit long to type out in a blog comment! Cheers.

Hi Rebecca! I haven’t tried these as cupcakes. I’m sure they’d be delicious–you could stuff the cupcakes with the almond cream by poking a hole in the top and squeezing the cream inside, then topping with the buttercream and a few slivered almonds on top. Let me know how they go if you give it a try!

We recently went back to my husband’s home town and had Peter’s burnt almond cake for a memorial service. It was so delicious! I totally get the hype about Peter’s and Dick’s (which I have not been fortunate enough to try yet)!
I made this cake for a 2 layer 11 inch birthday cake for my son. We live in Denver, so I did the standard altitude correction only for the cake part. I increased the cake and buttercream recipe by 50% and left the rest. I read through all the comments and loved reading the ones where something did not turn out quiet right because I could learn from it. I made this cake over 2 days. 1st day, almonds, sugar syrup and almond pastry cream. the 2nd day I did the cake and buttercream.
Yes, this cake is not exactly like Peter’s. But oh it was so delicious! I impressed all the guests and everybody loved it! Everything did turn out just right too! I did have a bunch of buttercream left. Will definitively make this again.
From scratch birthday cakes are kind of a big deal to me. I have only made from scratch cakes for my kids. My son really liked this … so I do apologize to any future daughter in law who may have to make this cake one day for him! lol

Definitely going to be giving this a shot, it looks terrific and it’s something I’ve wanted to try for a while. Oh, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t using prepackaged mixes, scratch is HOW you make money, mixes cost two or three times as much. Custard’s no big deal, and you can pre-mix huge batches of cake mix yourself. That eliminates any chance of a product changing and thus affecting your finished product too… one company goes down and drags you with it. Or they discontinue the product.

Hi Elizabeth,
Looks delicious. Looking forward to trying it out.
Are the egg whites just briefly whisked to combine with the milk and extracts or are they beaten until foamy or soft peak stage?
Thanks.